Principal Investigator / Institution

Program Description

The Institute for Disaster and Emergency Preparedness at Nova Southeastern University will expand their successful maritime workers hazardous materials handling training program, Project SEAMIST (South East Area Maritime Industry Safety Training). Project SEAMIST has designed and implemented a set of safety training curricula targeted to workers in the maritime industry, including ship workers and dock workers. In practice, they have trained not only these workers, but also safety trainers and compliance officers, police who respond to maritime incidents, medical personnel, and members of the military and academia in the Gulf/Atlantic states of Florida, Louisiana, and Virginia.

Hazardous Waste Worker Training Program (HWWTP)

For the HWWTP, Nova will provide new and ongoing on-site preparedness training for more than 6,000 maritime employees over a five-year period (including dock workers, ship workers, and their supervisors), as well as safety trainers and law enforcement personnel, to ensure timely and appropriate response to hazardous events. These required training courses prepare maritime workers for the possibility of exposure to hazardous materials in the course of their regular duties, during accidents, and incidents due to either natural disasters or the possibility of targeted terrorism attacks. The courses provide three levels of training, from basic worker awareness to training trainers, in order to reach the greatest number of at-risk personnel.

HAZMAT Disaster Preparedness Training Program (HDPTP)

Under the HDPTP, Nova will partner with a concurrent program, the Hazardous Material Maritime Industry Response Training Safety Initiative (HazMIRTSI), where they have an established network of maritime industry clientele (companies and ports), safety training partners, and law enforcement representatives in Virginia, Florida, and Louisiana, and will expand further into the Gulf in Mississippi and Texas and the Atlantic six Northern states. The HazMIRTSI will provide additional training on hazardous material disaster response preparedness.